Cultural Heritage Theory and Practice: International Perspectives

It is our great pleasure to invite you to the discussion Cultural Heritage Theory and Practice: International Perspectives, that will take place on the 16th of January 2017, from 17h to 19h, in the Galerie Colbert. The discussion will tackle some of the current international preoccupations in relation to heritage, point out particular theories developed in the framework of heritage studies, but, provide, especially an insight on the experiences that reunite heritage and museums theory and practice.

The first part of it will be dedicated to the presentation of the CulturalBase project, Social Platform on Cultural Heritage and European Identities by professor Arturo Rodriguez Morato, Director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Politics and Society at the University of Barcelona and coordinator of the CulturalBase project, as well as Dominique Poulot, professor at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and one of the partners on the CulturalBase project. Created in the framework of the Horizon 2020 program, this project tends to reunite academic, professional and policies’ perspective in relation to the contemporary and current questions of European heritage and identities.

Through the presentation of three personalities active and important for the heritage education and practice in Serbia and Croatia, but formed through the experience in numerous international projects and associations (universities as well), we will hear about the current heritage and museum preoccupations in the Balkans. Therefore, the second part of the discussion will be related to the presentations of Tomislav Šola, professor at the University of Zagreb and founder of “the Best in Heritage”, the world’s only annual survey of award-winning museum, heritage and conservation projects, furthermore, Irina Subotić, professor emeritus and lecturer on different PhD programs at the universities in Serbia, vice-president of Europa Nostra, pan-European network dedicated to citizens’ movement for the safeguarding of Europe’s cultural and natural heritage and president of Europa Nostra Serbia, and last but not least, Nikola Krstović, senior curator of Open air Museum “Old Village” in Sirogojno, one of the most visited Serbian museums, research associate of the Institute of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and guest lecturer of the Seminar for Museology and Heritology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade.

The discussion is organized by Isidora Stanković, PhD Candidate of professor Dominique Poulot, who is doing her thesis in the joint supervision between the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, and research assistant on the CulturalBase project, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

With the support of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, ED 441 Histoire de l’art and in the framework of HIPAM, Research Group of the History of Heritage and Museums.

Presentations

CulturalBase (culturalbase.eu), Social Platform on Cultural Heritage and European Identities, is a project created in the framework of the Horizon 2020 of the European Commission, in the collaboration among six European Universities (University of Barcelona, University of Glasgow, Central European University, European University Institute, University of Sussex, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University) and Interarts organization. By approaching different questions within three thematic axes – cultural inclusion, creativity and memory in Europe, the project aims to join the academic and professional perspective and to produce the recommendations for the research program regarding these questions.

Tomislav Šola – The Mind of our Own

30 years ago, at a ICOFOM conference in Paris I have proposed that we abandon museology and establish heritology. (It evolved later into mnemosophy as a public memory science). The matter was the content and use of theory, not the name. But, to be accepted, innovation must not be too radical (it was!) and arrive from an expected, credible source (it didn’t!). If urged to change entire mindset, museum community may reject the proponent (it did!). However, latter widening of museum concept and new co-operations made things evolve. But, the retrograde, neo-liberal context is obstructive to forming a new profession out of dismembered heritage sector: it may propose an usable future. (www.mnemosophy.com)

Irina Subotić, professor emeritus – Running all over the Balkans…

The presentation will tackle the variety of my civil activities connected to the education, raising awareness on the cultural heritage importance and its protection. These activities are in the same time on the agenda of the reconciliation, maintaining the old friendships and establishing new links after the dramatic 1990s in the former Yugoslavia, which is now called the region of the Balkans.

Nikola Krstović – Heritage and Realities: Curatorial Shaping of the World

The concept is based on the notion “everyone curate – curator creates”. Democratization of heritage methodologies and practices unfolded huge “grey zone” of what heritage might be and blurred traditional understanding of the profession(s). Curating is the collective process, not connected to the one curator’s job description. In that sense, curatorial (re)shaping of the world demands new knowledge and skills and demand reconsideration of professional ethic and rules. New realities open the questions of education, implementation of theories into practices and vice versa and basic constitutive frames. The final aftermath could refer to what we memorize globally and locally and how those memories influence our identities (if that is of any importance) and values, stands and actions now and in the future. The course “Nine Deaths (Lives) of Curator – How to be(come) more relevant” addresses the mentioned concepts demanding from participants to link theories and practices having in mind the right balances between professional codes and freedom of expression.

Biographies

Arturo Rodriguez Morato is Professor of Sociology and current Director of the CECUPS (Center for the Study of Culture, Politics and Society). Former Vice President for Research of the International Sociological Association (2006-2010) and Former President of its Research Committee on Sociology of the Arts (1998-2002). He was Director of the First ISA Forum of Sociology in 2008. He has been Visiting Scholar at the EHESS and the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Paris, at the New School for Social Research in New York, and at the University of Cambridge (UK). He has been Principal Investigator of several funded research projects and has published extensively on cultural policy, cultural occupations, urban culture and cultural sociology. Among his recent publications highlights: “The Culture Society: A Heuristic for Analyzing Cultural Change in the Global Age” (in Sociology Today, A. Sales, ed., Sage, 2012) as well as different articles in Revista de Investigaciones Políticas y Sociológicas (2012: 11, 3), European Urban and Regional Studies (2013: online first), among others. He is currently Coordinator of the project CulturalBase funded by the European Commission (2015-17).

Dominique Poulot is Professor of History at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University. His research focuses on the history and politics of heritage and museums. He has published several books on topics of heritage and memory, notably Musée, Nation, Patrimoine (Gallimard, 1997), a history of French museums (La Découverte, 2005), and of the idea of patrimony in Europe (PUF, 2006). He has published widely in journals and edited collections, including The Realms of Memory (Chicago), National Museums and Nation-building in Europe 1750-2010 (Routlege). He was partner of EUNAMUS, in the framework of the Seventh Framework Programme 2007-2013 about National Museums in Europe 1750-2012, and of the program Borders of Heritage at the EHESS, 2011-2014. Some of his most relevant publications are Musée, nation, patrimoine, 1789-1815 (Gallimard, Paris, 1997) ; Musée et muséologie, (La Découverte, Paris, 2005) ; Une histoire du patrimoine en Occident (PUF, Paris, 2006).

Tomislav Šola finished Art History in Zagreb and Museology in Zagreb and Paris and had his PhD in Museology at University of Ljubljana. He was museum curator and then director of Museum documentation center in Zagreb. As Chairman of the Yugoslav NC of ICOM, he organized three major international conferences, and was elected a member Executive Council. Later, he taught regularly in Catalonia and Finland, where he founded a summer school for heritage studies. He was a jury member of the EMYA/EMF and Chairman of Jury 4 of Europa Nostra/EU awards. At University of Zagreb he was Head of Department of Information Sciences, head of Chair of Museology and head of the post-graduate study of Museology. Prof. Šola permanently lectured at universities in Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Split and Zagreb (still) and was a guest lecturer at seven universities abroad. As invited lecturer, he delivered internationally about 325 hours (several seminars) and acted as consultant in 12 museum projects. He is founder & organizer of “The Best in Heritage” conference in Dubrovnik (www.thebestinheritage.com). His projects include: www.bridgesofeurope.com, www.globallovemuseum.net and www.mnemosophy.com.

Irina Subotić graduated Art History at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade in 1965; PhD entitled “Art Circle of the review Zenit 1921-1926” supported at the University of Ljubljana. Between 1965 and 1978 she was curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art and between 1979 and 1995 of the National Museum in Belgrade. From 1991 to 2002 she was professor of Modern Art History at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade and since 1995 to 2008 – professor at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. Now Irina is teaching on PhD studies in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Major interests and research: modern and avant-garde art, Yugoslav art in European context, museology, heritage protection. She is a member of national and international professional and civil society organizations (AICA, ICOM, Europa Nostra, Europa Nostra Serbia, Group 484, La Renaissance Française, Serbian Association of Literary Translators).

Nikola Krstović is senior curator in Open air museum Old Village in Sirogojno, Serbia in charge of international cooperation and museum programs. He gained his PhD from University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Art History on the Seminar for museology and heritage studies. Nikola is a research associate of the Institute of Ethnography of SASA and guest lecturer on the Seminar for museology holding a course – 9 Deaths of Curator/How to be(come) more relevant. He is member of ICOM/ICOFOM, Association of European open-air museums (AEOM), Europa Nostra Serbia board, Museum Society of Serbia and Program Council of Museum of Yugoslavia. Author of numerous museum projects, professional and scientific articles and contributions. Fields of scientific interests: heritage (of/and/ in) everyday life, heritage interpretation, contemporary curatorial practices.

Isidora Stanković is a PhD Candidate of Art History (specialization: Heritage Studies and Museology) in the joint supervision between the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade and the Doctoral School of Art History, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University. She finished her Bachelor studies of Art History and obtained her Master’s degree within the Seminar for Museology and Heritology founded at the Department of Art History of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. Currently, she works as a research assistant on the CulturalBase project at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University. For several years she has been enrolled as a teaching assistant in the courses of the aforementioned Seminar. Areas of her research include the problems of cultural heritage, lieux de mémoire, collective and cultural memory. She is a collaborator of different professional and scientific organizations related to the study, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage – the Center for Museology and Heritology of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade and Europa Nostra Serbia.

The 'HIPAM' is a PhD students' research group focusing on the history and the cultural history of cultural heritage and museums. It aims to present a rich overview of the current progresses to researchers, professors, PhD and Master students, and professionals throught conferences, debates, symposiums and academic publications. The HIPAM was initially founded in 2011 by PhD students from the graduate school of History of Art (ED 441) of the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne but welcomes any student coming from other academic institution. It selects a new thematic every year. The 2016-2017 program (« Patrimoines à la marge/En marge du patrimoine ») will question the processes of the cultural heritage legitimation throught four different perspectives and the "hedge" concept.